New immunotherapies in El Paso help desensitize children to dangerous foods

Marisol Hernandez, 10, watches as her mother Irma Dominguez carefully measures out 8 grams of peanut flour for her daughter which is part of the process in combating her peanut allergy.

When you are 10, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch is not such a bad thing. But when you are 10 and allergic to peanuts, something as simple as a PB&J could be life-threatening.

A peanut allergy is one of the most common food allergies and is most prevalent among children. An allergic reaction to peanuts can be quite severe, with the most severe reaction called anaphylaxis, which can lead to death. Fear of anaphylaxis from accidentally eating peanuts and other troublesome foods is leading to new therapies to try to desensitize children to those foods.

Irma Dominguez found out her 10-year-old daughter Marisol Hernandez was allergic to peanuts when she was a year and a half.

"She is actually allergic to eggs as well," Dominguez said. "When we gave her the peanut butter she had the same reaction as when she had the egg, that's how I knew she was allergic to peanuts."

Symptoms will begin to appear just a few minutes after coming into contact with a peanut.

The symptoms of an allergic reaction include hives, itching or tingling of the mouth or throat, nausea, diarrhea or stomach cramps, redness or swelling of the skin, difficulty breathing or wheezing, and a runny or stuffy nose.

"With the eggs, her whole body would start to get welts," Dominguez said. "When I saw her with the peanuts, her lips started to swell and her ears got red."

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Over the past six years, Marisol has been a patient of Dr. Lyndon Mansfield, an El Paso allergist/immunologist.

Doctors have yet for find a cure for food allergies, although recently both sublingual immunotherapy, called by the acronym SLIT, where the allergen is held under the tongue, and oral immunotherapy, where the allergen is simply swallowed, have shown promise as potential treatments.

Mansfield used the oral immunotherapy method on Marisol.

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Victor Martinez

"We desensitize people," Mansfield said. "That means if they are peanut allergic, over time we condition them so they can tolerate peanuts and they don't have to worry about anaphylaxis and things like that. It really changes their lives, especially the kids."

Symptoms of anaphylaxis include tightening of the chest and airways, swelling of the throat, difficulty breathing, rapid heart rate, a sharp drop in blood pressure and dizziness.

A reaction that results in anaphylaxis requires medical attention and treatment by means of an epinephrine shot.

"When someone is allergic to foods, they can't tolerate a normal dosage," he said. "But if you start out with small dosages -- micrograms -- and work your way up over time, the immune system eventually makes the body tolerant to that kind of dosing. You can usually get people who are peanut allergic to tolerate up to 8 grams, which is 8 peanuts."

In Marisol's case, she started with very low dosage of peanut flour mixed into her milk.

"We are up to 8 grams of mix every other day now," Dominguez said. "She has started to develop a tolerance to peanuts and now she can have cookies that have a trace of peanuts."

What Marisol looks forward to the most is Saturdays, the day she can have a two Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

"When I was younger, I never ate peanuts because of my allergies," she said. "I don't eat peanut butter and jelly sandwich because the peanut butter from the jar is harder to measure out in grams. If you get a spoonful, you're not going to know exactly how much peanut is in there."

Marisol, a fifth-grader at O'Shea Keleher Elementary, said she has always felt like a normal kid.

"At school, they don't let us bring peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because it's a peanut-free school," she said.

She said she is still leery of peanuts.

"I can smell the nut in everything," she said. "I can even have M&M's with peanuts, too."

What concerns Dominguez is her daughter's eating habits at school.

"That was a big thing for me when she started pre-K," she said. "They have little tags and I printed out 'PEANUT ALLERGY' on it. Her allergic reaction was off the charts, according to Dr. Mansfield. I don't know what the level is now, but I read even if you just open a package around someone allergic to peanuts, they would get sick.

I was also worried about other kids giving her a peanut butter cookie at school."

An allergic reaction to peanuts, as with any allergic reaction to food, is an immune system response to the proteins found within peanuts. The immune system recognizes the peanut as something harmful and launches an attack against it to protect the body.

"It takes some discipline and work from the patient's standpoint," he said. "What we've learned over time is we have to make sure we explain all those things to the patient so when they decide to do it, they're committed to the fact that its going to take a little while for it to work but they have an important role in the issue."

Victor R. Martinez writes about medical and health issues. He may be reached at 915-546-6128.

An allergic response to foods such as peanuts, eggs and shellfish can usually occurs within minutes of exposure. Symptoms range from mild to severe. Allergy signs and symptoms can include:

•Skin reactions, such as hives, redness or swelling.

•Itching or tingling in or around the mouth and throat.

•Digestive problems, such as diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea or vomiting.